Broadband

Supply chain unrest can't quell 1Q22 fiber broadband spending: Analyst

June 9, 2022

Dell'Oro Group reports that PON optical line terminal (OLT) revenues climbed 42% versus the year-ago quarter.

Worldwide sales of broadband access equipment increased 14% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2022 to reach $4.4 billion, according to Dell’Oro Group. The growth came in spite of ongoing supply chain constraints, the market research firm points out in its 1Q 2022 Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report, with fiber and fixed wireless gear leading the way.

PON optical line terminal (OLT) revenues climbed 42% versus the year-ago quarter, according to the report. “Despite all the challenges with supply chains, logistics, and labor, service providers continue to invest heavily to expand their fiber broadband networks, particularly in North America,” explained Jeff Heynen, vice president, broadband access and home networking at Dell’Oro. “Many of these deployments are to deliver multi-gig services, as operators look to stay one step ahead of their competitors.”

Cable MSOs also are spending to keep up with competitors – not only on fiber to the home but on their HFC infrastructure as well. Heynen and Dell’Oro say that cable access concentrator revenue grew 5% versus 1Q21 to just over $257 million. Purchases of Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) technology helped make up for declines in traditional CCAP licenses, they say.

Meanwhile, fixed wireless access continues to become more popular. Fixed wireless CPE unit shipments hit 3.8 million units in the first three months of this year. The report states that 5G sub-6-GHz units displayed the most growth.

Dell’Oro’s Broadband Access and Home Networking Quarterly Report provides an overview of the broadband access market with tables covering manufacturers’ revenue, average selling prices, and port/unit shipments for cable, DSL, and PON equipment. Covered equipment includes Converged Cable Access Platforms (CCAP) and Distributed Access Architectures (DAA); DSLAMs by technology (ADSL/ADSL2+, G.SHDSL, VDSL, VDSL Profile 35b, and G.fast); PON OLTs; cable, DSL, and PON CPE; and SOHO WLAN equipment, including mesh routers.

About the Author

Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director & Associate Publisher

Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.

Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.

He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, DOCSIS technology, and more.